Senate Republican Blocks Vote on Obama's CIA Pick

A Republican critic of the Obama administration's drone policy succeeded Wednesday in blocking a vote on John Brennan's nomination to be CIA director.

By RICHARD LARDNERTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON | A Republican critic of the Obama administration's drone policy succeeded Wednesday in blocking a vote on John Brennan's nomination to be CIA director over questions about the possible use of the unmanned weapons against American citizens. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., mounted a filibuster against President Barack Obama's pick to lead the spy agency and he demanded that Obama or Attorney General Eric Holder issue a statement making clear that drones would not be used in the United States to kill terrorism suspects who are U.S. citizens. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he planned to file a motion to bring debate over Brennan's nomination to lead the spy agency to an end. But he would need 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to do that. Reid had been pushing for a confirmation vote to be held Wednesday, but those plans were dashed by Paul's lengthy floor speech. Paul began speaking shortly before noon on what he said was the Obama administration's refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes inside U.S. borders. He held the floor for nearly seven hours, receiving intermittent help from several other senators, including Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Paul drank water and chewed on a snack while continuing his oration. Wyden has long pressed for greater oversight of the use of drones. Paul said he would be willing to end his filibuster and proceed to a vote if he received the statement from the president or the attorney general. Holder came close to making such a statement earlier in the day during an exchange with Cruz at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, according to Paul. Cruz asked Holder if the Constitution allowed the federal government to kill a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil who doesn't pose an imminent threat. Holder said the situation was hypothetical, but that he did not think that in that situation the use of a drone or lethal force would be appropriate. Cruz criticized Holder for not simply saying "no" in response. In a letter sent Tuesday to Paul, Brennan said the CIA does not have authority to conduct lethal operations inside the U.S. Brennan's nomination won approval Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee after the White House broke a lengthy impasse by agreeing to give lawmakers access to top-secret legal opinions justifying the use of lethal drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects overseas.If confirmed, Brennan would replace Michael Morell, the CIA's deputy director who has been acting director since David Petraeus resigned in November after acknowledging an affair with his biographer.